The hallway outside
Jack’s dorm room was empty and quiet. Everyone was having dinner around this
time. Just in case Jack kept checking if anyone would arrive and ruin his
night.
“It’s time,” Jack said.
He rushed back into his room and changed
into his leather Batman suit, pulling on his boots, strapping on his utility
belt, and lastly pulling on his mask. Standing in front of the mirror he used
his roommate’s eye black to fill in the area around his eyes.
“Now I must serve… Justice,” he said in a dark,
raspy voice.
Jack flipped his cape and took off running
down the empty hallway. As he ran, he adjusted the mask to better fit his face,
his cape flapping behind him. As he turned the corner, his roommate, Adam, was walking
toward their room.
“Oh for fucks sake,” Adam said, as Jack slowed
to a stop, “Take that off already, it’s almost Thanksgiving,”
“Batman doesn’t take a
holiday,” Jack replied in his raspy voice.
“Batman should remember
that he’s a college student and not a crime fighter.”
“I’m Batman, College
cannot hold me.”
“I knew I should have
taken you to the hospital when you fell at the Halloween party,” said Adam, “but
I just thought ‘hey he’s drunk.’ Now I’m thinking you’re just fucking crazy.”
“Batman is not crazy. You
must be referring to my archenemy the Joker.”
Adam threw up his arms. “Well
if Batman decides he wants to be just Jack again, you know, my roommate and
best friend, can you tell him I’ll be in our room?” Adam said, walking away.
Jack continued forward and
reached the staircase door. He pushed through it, slamming the door against the
wall and cracking the foundation. Jack ran up the stairs to the roof and walked
out onto the snow covered night. The dorm was only three stories up but the
view of the small, upstate New York town was visible from the roof. Jack walked
towards the edge and stood there surveying his surroundings. The air was crisp
and unforgiving. The night would be a cold one, but for Jack, his leather suit
would keep his warm.
“I’m Batman,” he screamed
out into the night. A few students below started pointing at him.
###
“Hey, check it out,” Jack
said, turning to Adam. He shifted his laptop screen so his roommate could get a
view of the website.
“What did you find?”
asked Adam.
“This place is selling a
replica Batman costume from the Dark Knight and it’s pretty cheap.”
“What, you want to be
Batman for Halloween?”
“Yeah, do you think
Serena would be my cat woman?”
“You want to dress up
with your girlfriend for the Halloween party as Batman and Cat woman?” Adam
laughed, “Because if I didn’t think you were a total nerd before, I most
definitely think you are now.”
“Whatever, she would look
super-hot in a cat woman’s leather suit, the Michelle Pfeiffer one not the one
that Anne Hathaway had.”
“Yeah she would!”
“Dude that’s my girl. No
dirty thoughts.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Adam said,
“But let’s finish our project first. I need a B average to stay on the football
team.”
“No worries, I’ll help
you.” Jack closed the store’s website page. “I need to keep a 4.0 average to
keep my scholarship, anyway.”
“So, how are you going to
convince Serena to do this insanity?”
“I don’t really have to.”
“Why the hell not? I want
to see how this insane conversation is going to go.”
“Well, I already asked
her when we talked about going to the party. We just never got around to
talking about the details.”
“You two make me sick,”
Adam said. “Oh, I just remembered, are you going to use that thing?”
“Yeah, my Uncle and I
tested it over the summer. The whole thing works like a fully functioning
utility belt. I was saving it to go to Comic Con with but I never got to go
because Serena wanted to spend time at home,” Jack said.
“So you did meet her
family over the summer.”
“Yup, and weirdly enough
they approve,” Jack smiled “Anyway what time did Jacob say the party started? So
I can tell Serena.”
“He said to come after 10
because he was going to get together with someone, but I know the party starts
at 9.”
Jack pulled out his phone
and sent Serena a message adding a winking face at the end. The phone buzzed right
away.
“Cool,” Jack smiled, “Serena
said she was going to meet us there at 10.”
“Stop smiling. Anyway,
why are you texting her? You guys have a date this weekend.”
“Yeah, I know, but I
still like to tell her things.”
###
“Jack get off the roof
before someone calls the cops,” Adam yelled from the first floor.
“I have to talk to
Commissioner Gordon,” Jack yelled down in his raspy voice.
“The hell you do, get the
fuck off the roof,” Adam pointed to the crowd of people around him. “Everyone
already thinks you’re crazy.”
“I’m not crazy, I’m
Batman,” he said.
Twenty minutes had passed
since Jack had appeared on the roof. He was waiting for the signal so he could
go off and fight crime. Adam kept yelling for him to come down but Jack
wouldn’t listen Next to Adam, two girls started laughing.
“Shit man, you have
people laughing at you,” Adam yelled. Micah, their dorm advisor, pushed through
the crowd and walked up to Adam.
“Adam, what the hell is
going on?” he said.
“Dude, it’s a long story,
and it’s too damn cold to tell you right now,” he said, “Can you just find a
way to get Jack’s stupid ass down from the roof.”
“I’ll have to call campus
police, but they’ll just call the police.”
“Oh man, really?” Adam
said as Micah pulled out his phone.
###
“Hey Serena,” Jack said,
kissing her.
“Hey back at you,” she
said.
“So I have a question.”
“Is this about me being
cat woman for Halloween?”
“Who told you?”
“Adam told me when he
went to meet Jacob before class yesterday.” She said laughing, “I’ll do it but
let me tell you Jacob was laughing. This better be a good costume you’re
wearing or else you’re going to get an ass kicking.”
“I love you,” Jack said
as he kissed her on the cheek.
“I know, I know,” she
said. “Oh, just so you know, I have to cut our date short today. I kinda
promised Jacob I would tutor him tonight for a test on Monday. You know he’s
gotta keep a C average.”
“I know. I’ve been
helping Adam. I’m cool with it, plus I have to study for my midterms.”
“I hope you aren’t stretching
yourself too thin. I don’t want a repeat of our senior year when you ended up
in the hospital because you fell asleep at the wheel.”
“I’ll remember to sleep.”
Jack said “Now, let’s go have our dinner date. We need our strength so we can
help those Barnes brothers.”
###
The flashing lights from
the Plattsburgh campus police came rushing down the street, adding a red and
blue glow to the dark night. Two officers came out of the car. One pulled out a
megaphone.
“Sir please vacate the
roof before we forcefully remove you,” the officer said.
“Jack, the cops are here,”
yelled Adam, “Please get your ass down here.”
“Listen to your friend
young man,” the officer said. “You don’t want us to call the city police.”
Across the parking lot
not far from where Jack stood he noticed a struggle between two people. A guy
was standing next to a red truck yelling at a short blonde girl. Jack took a
deep breath inhaling the cold night air.
“It’s time for me to
serve… Justice,” Jack said. He took out a grappling hook that was on his belt
and pointed it across the walkway towards the next building, he shot the hook
and it entwined itself on a nearby tree. Jack pulled out one of his daggers,
using it to slide down the makeshift line. He took off running towards the parking
lot, the officers chasing him as he ran through the crowd of people who had
been staring ever since he had made it to the roof.
“Young man please stop,”
One of them yelled but Jack was too fast.
###
“Dude you look ridiculous
in that suit,” Adam said as they arrived at the frat party. The music was so
loud, yelling was the only way they would be able to hear each other.
“Nope, I think I look great,” Jack replied,
“It fits like a glove.”
“Is Serena going to be
cat woman?”
“She said she would be,”
he said scanning the room for his girlfriend.
“This place is packed,”
Adam yelled as they walked through the rooms.
“I’m going to look for my
girl,” yelled Jack, “I’ll meet up with you in a few.” Adam nodded and headed
towards center of the packed room.
Jack went upstairs. All
of rooms were packed with couples flirting, kissing. The last room belonged to
the captain of the football team and Adam’s brother Jacob. Jack knocked but no
one answered. There was music flowing from the room as loud as the music
downstairs. He saw a sock on the floor by the door. He knew a sock on
the doorknob meant that someone was in there getting busy with their girl. It
was the universal rule he learned from Adam and his brothers, but he didn’t
know if it fell from the doorknob or Jacob dropped his sock by accident. Jack
took his chances and opened the door anyway. The
room was dimmed with black lights and it took Jack a minute to realize what he
was seeing.
“Who the fuck opened the
door,” yelled out Adam’s brother.
The silhouettes were dark but Jack could
make out someone with a Richard Nixon Mask on their head and a girl dressed as
cat woman.
“Serena?” he yelled.
The figure turned around
half naked, her top half exposed.
Before she could say anything Jack slammed
the door and ran back down to the party. Jack grabbed the closest bottle of
booze on the table and rushed out the door. The bottle was less than half empty
when he opened it, but he didn’t care. He chugged it as he walked back towards
campus. Jack stomped his boots on the newly fallen snow making an erratic trail
behind him.
“I feel so stupid,” he
said. Behind him he could hear someone running towards him.
“Dude what the fuck
happened?” Adam said, catching up to Jack.
“Nothing,” he said, “Just
found my girl fucking your brother.”
“Damn,” Adam said “Dude
I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Seriously I didn’t know.”
“Yeah… whatever I don’t
fucking care.”
“Is there anything I can
do?” Adam said.
“Yeah, get me another
bottle of this,” Jack said holding up a now empty bottle of Grey Goose.
“Sure, give me a minute.
I’ll just swipe it off the table at the party,” Adam said before running back
towards the frat house. Jack walked towards the art displays that were outside
the art building and sat on the pedestal of the closest one.
“I’d rather be Batman and
sleep around than talk to that bitch again,” he said then taking a long swig from
the bottle. “Damn it, it’s empty.” He said shaking the bottle hoping more would
drip out. “Damn… I’m thirsty…” He got up off the pedestal.
“I’m Batman,” he yelled
into the night, swaying from side to side. He started staggering away when Adam
appeared next to him.
“Where are you going?”
Adam said.
“I need a drink… I’m
thirsty,” he said.
“Here,” Adam said showing
him another bottle of goose.
“Dude, thanks man… You’re
the best,” he said his voice slurred a bit. “Guess what?” Jack said after
taking a drink from the new bottle.
“What?” Adam asked.
“I’m going to be Batman,”
Jack said before tumbling down and hitting his head on the hard ground.
“Okay Batman, you’re
drunk. So that means it’s time to go home,” Adam said taking the bottle away
from him as he carried his friend off.
###
Jack reached the parking
lot and saw the struggle between the blonde girl he swore he had seen before
and a surly guy. The guy smacked her across the face. Jack knew that he had to
help her. He jumped on the hood of a nearby car and ran towards the fighting
duo, jumping from car to car. When he reached them he lunged at the guy and
threw him to the ground Jack started pummeling the guy in the face but after
two punches the guy threw Jack off and slammed him on the ground. The big,
surly guy slammed his fists on Jack’s face again and again. The blonde girl
screamed. Jack’s right eye was nearly shut when the cops showed up.
“Sir, stop hitting that
young man and step away from him,” one of the campus cops said as they pulled
the surly man off of Jack.
“The fuck he attacked
me,” the big, surly guy said.
Jack was relieved, but
before he could move the guy slammed his foot onto Jack’s face. The last thing
he remembered before he passed out was the scuffle between the two cops and the
surly man.
###
Jack woke up in the
hospital two days later. He had a severe concussion, and several bones in his
face were broken including his nose. He had a crack in his skull from the fall
he had during Halloween. The doctors called him lucky because he would have
died if it weren’t for the mask he had on.
“I’m not going to party
again,” he said out loud.
The batman madness was over. He wasn’t
completely over his now ex-girlfriend, but she wasn’t worth all this pain.
“Hey man, you’re awake,”
Adam said as he walked into the room, “How do you feel?”
“Like hell,” Jack said.
“Dude I’m sorry about my
brother and Serena,” Adam said as he sat down next to Jack.
“It’s not like you had anything to do with
it,” said Jack, “And I now know what kind of asshole your brother really is.”
Jack took a deep breath. “Are they still hooking up?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to my brother
since, and Serena keeps trying to apologize but I keep turning my back on her.”
“Whatever, it’s probably better that I
don’t know.”
“So we’re still good?”
“Yeah, but I’m not hanging
at your house during break.”
“I understand, and no
worries you’ll bounce back after all this.” Adam sighed. “On the bright side I
talked to your professors and they’re going to give you until mid-January for
you to finish all of your work and take your finals. So the past few weeks will
be like they never happened.”
“Yeah, but they did
happen. But don’t worry, I’ll live and love again,” Jack said with a solemn
smile. He stared towards the window. It was snowing again but Jack saw it as a
clean slate. The snow was wiping away the problems he faced and giving him the
chance to continue to live his life.
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